I Need To Find A Way To Make Her Love Me Again - Chapter 38

As the predatory ghosts paraded by, delighted by the chaos and dancing, the two women kept their distance to avoid entanglement, trailing far behind the procession. However, Yan Xingyu was distracted. She didn’t notice a fist sized eyeball rolling toward her feet and stepped directly onto it.

“Who the hell stepped on my eye!”

A roar erupted from the parading monsters, drawing the gaze of everyone nearby. A large ghost with five eyes, a dog’s head, and a human body, was gnashing its teeth and clutching its head in pain. Seeing that the center eye on its forehead was missing, Yi Rong pulled back her gaze and saw the flattened eyeball behind her companion’s heel.

At that moment, the Dog Ghost found its eye. It shoved through the crowd and stormed up to them, cursing, “You color blind brat! You didn’t see you were stepping on someone’s eye? You’ve got nerve!”

The shout was sharp and loud. Yan Xingyu couldn’t quite understand the dialect, but seeing the massive ghost fuming and roaring in her face, she looked back with utter confusion.

Yi Rong summoned a Shadow Fish to lift the eyeball from the ground and present it to the Dog Ghost. “Our apologies,” she said smoothly. “My friend did not step on your eye intentionally.”

“Not intentional? I think you did it on purpose! You couldn’t see an eyeball that big? I suppose you’d only notice if I started dancing on your head!”

The Dog Ghost was heartbroken seeing its eye squashed out of shape. Its tongue was like a lick of flame., aggressive and relentless.

Noticing the surrounding ghosts leaning in to watch, Yi Rong knew these creatures loved to incite trouble. Given Yan Xingyu’s unique status here, if her identity were discovered, things would become impossible to settle.

Suppressing her temper, Yi Rong maintained a polite tone: “My sister truly has a visual impairment. Please, do not take offense.”

Yan Xingyu realized she was in the wrong for stepping on the eye, but seeing the ghost’s foul attitude and bared fangs made her own blood boil. However, seeing Yi Rong repeatedly yielding and showing restraint, she held back to avoid causing a larger scene.

She felt a hand wrap around her waist as Yi Rong pulled her close. The woman’s voice was soft yet firm: “She needs me to support and lead her just to walk. She certainly had no intention of mocking you.”

Yan Xingyu froze in place. The Dog Ghost stared at the motionless, quiet figure wearing the bamboo hat and snorted. “Hah! Even as a ghost, she can’t handle the light?”

As it reached out to flip up the veil, a sharp wind struck. The Dog Ghost looked up to see Yi Rong’s pupils narrow into slits. Her expression turned sinister, and her tone went cold: “My sister was not intentional. If you continue to harass us, do not blame me for being unkind.”

Sensing that Yi Rong was not someone to be trifled with, the Dog Ghost stopped its advance but refused to let its tongue rest. “So, you think a few words just settles this?”

“What do you want?” Yi Rong asked.

The Dog Ghost thought for a moment. “You look like you’ve got some skill. This year’s Ghost Arena, help me fight. If you win the championship, give the prize to me.”

A burst of laughter erupted from the crowd. “Old Dog! You got your ass kicked last year, and now you’re looking for a ringer?”

“Shut your trap and mind your business!” the Dog Ghost barked back before looking at Yi Rong. “Well? Do we have a deal?”

“Deal,” Yi Rong agreed, then asked what the Ghost Arena was.

Assuming they were newcomers, the Dog Ghost explained the workings of the Ghost City.

While the timing of the Ghost City’s opening was fixed, the location changed every time. The heavier the resentment in an area, the more it attracted ghosts, leading the City Master to open the gates there. Though the human realm wasn’t suitable for long stays, the ghosts loved it nonetheless. The parade of Great Ghosts served to lure wandering souls back to the City.

Of course, the Great Ghosts didn’t do this for free. There were rewards, but to keep things entertaining, the City Master set up an arena for duels after the parade. The winner would not only gain fame but also receive a wisp of Underworld Qi from the City Master. A single wisp could drastically increase a ghost’s cultivation; in a world where the strong eat the weak, everyone craved that power.

Yi Rong agreed to the terms, expecting the Dog Ghost to return to the parade. Instead, it stuck by their side. To maintain the lie about Yan Xingyu’s “impairment,” Yi Rong had to continue leading her by the hand.

The Dog Ghost toyed with its eyeball, its other eyes darting around. “So, was your sister born blind? She still can’t see even as a ghost?”

Yi Rong couldn’t be bothered to engage, offering only a curt “Mhm.”

Seeing their intimacy, the Dog Ghost smacked its lips. “I’ve seen many ‘ghostly sisters’ in my time, but never one who protects her sister like this, hiding her away like a precious treasure.”

The comment was half-mocking, half-probing. Yi Rong ignored it entirely, walking forward in silence. Seeing he was being ignored, the Dog Ghost finally stopped rambling.

Throughout this, Yan Xingyu hadn’t said a word. But hearing the ghost’s last remark, she couldn’t help but look down at the slender hand tightly gripping hers. She watched the pale skin and the faint veins on the back of Yi Rong’s hand, rippling like the woman’s hidden emotions.

She felt a mix of helplessness and a secret craving for this protection.

Yan Xingyu sighed inwardly. Soon, the parade reached its end. An elevated platform appeared in a clearing ahead. A figure wearing a mask, half-crying, half-laughing, stood upon it, facing the crowd.

“Everyone, we meet again!” the man shouted, his voice reaching every ear. “Old friends and new, welcome to the annual Ghost Arena!”

“The rules remain the same, the last one standing takes the City Master’s Underworld Qi.”

The man produced an obsidian lamp. Its wick was a glowing insect, emitting a faint light that possessed an irresistible allure for every ghost present. As the ghosts’ eyes widened with greed, the man chuckled and stowed the lamp, pulling out a brown fruit.

“And, as per tradition, the first Great Ghost to step onto the stage will receive the Underworld Fruit nurtured by the City Master. It will grant a massive surge in cultivation for half an hour.”

“As long as you hold the stage for one hour, the Underworld Qi is yours!”

“So, who wants to be our first contender?”

The words had barely left his lips when a ghost with a spiny back and a rat like face leapt onto the stage. Without a word, the man tossed the fruit into its mouth.

The ghost, known as Ci Ge, began to swell visibly. Its spines grew larger and sharper. With a grotesque shriek, it began plucking the spines from its own back and hurling them into the crowd below.

The fight wasn’t just on the stage anymore, it was spreading.

But rather than being intimidated, the surrounding ghosts began rubbing their hands together, eager to storm the platform. Seeing the escalating frenzy, Yi Rong grabbed Yan Xingyu, intending to leave this chaotic place.

The Dog Ghost saw her intent and grabbed her shoulder. “Don’t you dare run off in the confusion.”

“I am not one to break my word,” Yi Rong said. “I am taking my sister to a safe spot, then I will return.”

The Dog Ghost let go. Yi Rong led Yan Xingyu about half a mile away before turning back to join the fray.

Yan Xingyu watched as Yi Rong prepared to dive back into the mass of fighting ghosts. She pulled her back. “If they want to fight, let them fight first.”

“The chaos will reach here eventually,” Yi Rong replied. “Better to eliminate some of them now to prevent further trouble.” She looked at the silhouette behind the veil. Though she couldn’t see Yan Xingyu’s face, she felt the grip on her hand. Her eyes softened.

“Don’t worry about me. Hide yourself well, don’t let them realize you are human, and wait for me to return.”

She pulled her hand away and headed toward the battlefield without looking back. Yan Xingyu frowned, remaining silent.

The high stage was now a scene of blood and shadows. Ghostly energy filled the air, drawing even more monsters to the site. The cacophony of shouting and killing made Yan Xingyu intensely uncomfortable. Influenced by the surrounding hostility, she felt a growing sense of restlessness. She looked up, tracking the woman slaughtering her way through the ghosts.

Yi Rong held no blade, yet she severed limbs with her bare hands, moving like a jade-faced Yan Wang (King of Hell), reaping lives with ease.

Yan Xingyu was stunned by her power, feeling a sense of security. But then, her gaze shifted. Not far from the stage, she saw a familiar face standing still.

Yan Xingyu walked toward the person.

Noticing her approach, Yan Xiaoling stood her ground. As Yan Xingyu stopped before her, Xiaoling smiled. “Ruo’er, you’ve returned.”

“Returned?”

Hearing the confusion in her voice, Yan Xiaoling replied, “This is Yulan Palace. Ruo’er, don’t you recognize it?” She paused, as if realizing something. “Ah, it’s been a long time since you were here, and with the Ghost City opening here, it’s natural you wouldn’t recognize it.”

Yan Xingyu stared at her, fragments of memory flashing through her mind.

Ignoring her reaction, Yan Xiaoling continued conversationally, “Ruo’er, doesn’t this scene look familiar? It’s just like that day… when Yi Rong led the demonic beasts to invade Yulan Palace.”

Xiaoling emphasized the next four words with heavy deliberation: “Corpses strewn everywhere.”

Yan Xingyu’s eyes flickered, but she didn’t respond. Xiaoling didn’t care. “Look at her now, bringing you here, putting on this act… as if you could ever go back to being ‘loving sisters’.”

Xiaoling let out a mocking sneer. “Ruo’er, don’t let her blind you again.”

“Why are you pretending to be Yi Rong to deceive me?”

It was a test. As the smile on Yan Xiaoling’s face crumbled and her eyes turned cold, Yan Xingyu felt a shiver of dread. Her body tensed.

The facade of the “kind elder” vanished. A murderous light appeared in Xiaoling’s eyes as she hissed, “You remembered?”

“Why do this? Aren’t we family?” Yan Xingyu asked. Looking at the woman before her, she knew her suspicions were correct, but she couldn’t understand why. They shared blood, how could she do this?

“Heh… family?” Yan Xiaoling’s lips curled into a smile that was both mocking and insane.

“I don’t have any family.”